"I love her‚ and she loves me." Eat‚ Pray‚ Love author Elizabeth Gilbert has publicly announced she has fallen in love with her best friend of 15 years‚ a female‚ after seeing her bravery while undergoing treatment for cancer. Her 2006 best-seller book described how she embarked on a journey of self-discovery following a divorce‚ before falling in love with a Brazilian in Indonesia. The "happy ending" was turned into a movie with Julia Roberts.She separated from Jose Nunes in July‚ citing personal reasons‚ and now she's disclosed that she's in a same-sex relationship with her best friend‚ Rayya Elias.On Wednesday‚ she took to her Facebook page to state: "There is something I wish to tell you today — something which I hope and trust you will receive with grace".When Elias was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer‚ Gilbert says‚ "Death — or the prospect of death — has a way of clearing away everything that is not real‚ and in that space of stark and utter realness‚ I was faced with this truth: I do not merely love Rayya (as a friend); I am in love with Rayya. And I have no more time for denying that truth. The thought of someday sitting in a hospital room with her‚ holding her hand and watching her slide away‚ without ever having let her (or myself!) know the extent of my true feelings for her...well‚ that thought was unthinkable".Referring to the split from her husband‚ she said: "For those of you who are doing the math here‚ and who are wondering if this situation is why my marriage came to an end this spring‚ the simple answer is yes. (Please understand that I cannot say anything more about it than that. I trust you are all sensitive enough to understand how difficult this has been..."Sharing a photo of herself with her new partner on Facebook‚ Gilbert said: "Here is where we stand now: Rayya and I are together. I love her‚ and she loves me. I'm walking through this cancer journey with her‚ not only as her friend‚ but as her partner. I am exactly where I need to be — the only place I can be".Gilbert said the reason she had not spoken publicly about their love before was because Rayya‚ herself and their families needed a "cocoon of privacy over these last few months‚ as we face all and process all these massive changes and challenges".However‚ she had decided to make the announcement now because‚ as a public persona‚ she would be seen out with her partner‚ health permitting."For reasons of my own integrity and sanity‚ I need to be able to walk into any room in the world with Rayya on my arm‚ feeling relaxed enough to stand comfortably in simple openness about who we actually are to each other."If I can't be my true self (whether at home in privacy‚ or out there in the world in public) then things will very quickly get messy and weird and stupid in my life."Pretending is demeaning‚ and it makes you weak and confused‚ and it's also a lot of work. I don't do that kind of work anymore."Asking her fans for support‚ she ended her Facebook post by saying: "Because I believe in love‚ I will ask for love... We will resonate with it‚ and we will thank you for it. Because truth is the force that guides us to where we need to be in life‚ but love is the power that heals us once we arrive there"...